Black Rose
by Gindokei
Summary: Izayoi Aki's transformation into the Black Rose Witch and back again. Might be a little out of character. A teensy hint of YuseixAki, if you squint and really look for it. Formerly Saawariya.


_Black Rose_

**AN: So, I thought I'd try my hand at writing a Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's fanfiction. I tried very hard to keep Aki in character, but who knows how that turned out? And I do make up things along the way, as well as warping situations. That's the sheer beauty of , huh? All right, I'm playing with years, so Aki is about six in the first scene, and fourteen in the second scene, sixteen in third and fourth scenes, and then eighteen in the last. Excuse the unoriginality of the title, please.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.**

* * *

Black Rose Dragon sinks its teeth into my father's monster as I watch his life point counter slowly drop to zero. The blue dragon dissolves into particles of light, and Black Rose Dragon arches its neck and releases a fearsome roar of triumph. It beats its wings fiercely, and my father is thrown into the wall, his eyes wide with disbelief. The stone cracks with the force of the impact, and I hurriedly remove Black Rose Dragon from my duel disk and withdraw my deck from the deck holder. I hear my mother choke out a sob as she rushes to my father's side, her hands aching to soothe him, her eyes full of tears. I reach a hand towards him, as if to touch him, horrified by the brutality of my power. It had started out as an innocent duel – my first – and had slowly escalated into something nearly fatal for my father, all because of my frustration at losing.

My vision blurs. I let my arm fall limply to my side as my mother rapidly talks to someone on the telephone. My father's eyes are now closed, but I cannot forget his shocked gaze. His head lolls unnaturally, and the speed of my mother's voice picks up. I stand with my duel disk still strapped onto my arm, my deck clutched in one hand.

The ambulance ride is torture. People in crisp white flutter around my father, whose face is strangely still as he lies on a stretcher. My mother clasps his hand, rubbing her fingers over his knuckles. I catch a few words of fervent prayer as I move closer to her. My mouth opens – for what, I do not know. Perhaps to apologize, to ask if he will be all right, to ask her if she still loves me. But as I muster up the courage to say the few words, my mother's face turns towards me, and she smiles tremulously.

Instantly, I am filled with self-loathing. I have injured my father so gravely – I have caused her so much worry – and yet she smiles at me. I do not deserve her love, I do not deserve her smile, when I am a tool of destruction. Oddly morbid thoughts for one so young, I think to myself. Yet I know they are true. I do not know what these powers are, but I hate them.

My mother watches as the doctors try to mend fissures in my father's shoulder blades and as they treat the intense bruising across his back. I wait outside, my deck in my hands. I turn over the top card, and Black Rose Dragon stares me in the face. My fingers tighten around the card, and I am suddenly seized by the longing to tear the card, to burn it, to wipe it from my memory. I am sure that if the card did not exist, I would not be in such a position, wondering if my father's brain will ever recover. The doctors are not sure about his mental state, because he has still not woken up. My mother does not want them to operate – she is afraid of what they might find. Yet I know they will, and I unexpectedly know that he will be all right.

* * *

My parents never speak of the incident of so many years ago. Yet my father has never dueled me since, and they seem strangely glad as they wave me off. They have enrolled me in a private boarding school dedicated to dueling. I cannot say that I am not excited, for I am – even after that fateful night, although I have not touched my cards, I have watched duels on television and paid rapt attention to each and every one. I promise myself that I will not let the strange, fearful power seize me again. I convince myself that I am free of it, that it will not touch me.

Again, I hold Black Rose Dragon in front of my eyes, studying it carefully. Again, I wish to be able to dispose of it. But I know that I never shall, because it is my mother's card. She speaks of the duels she fought with Black Rose Dragon with fondness, and I know that I could never pain her so deeply as to tear up her most prized card. I deem myself not worthy of love, yet I hurt myself even more by allowing myself to love and be loved.

My classes are intriguing, and I am gripped by the challenge of overcoming the obstacle I am faced with – the other students grew up in households fairly obsessed with dueling. Though both my mother and my father once dueled, after that night…

I shake the memory from my mind as I lie on my bed after the first day. My roommate is a pleasant enough girl, and tries to start a conversation with me. I attempt to be polite, but eventually, I start ignoring her relentless questions. I feign sleep, and she soon silences herself, until I can hear her soft snores.

I cannot wait for my first duel, and it comes soon enough. Two weeks into the school year, I am asked by the teacher to duel another first-year. Apparently, I have impressed with my dedication to schoolwork, and I am seen as a worthy opponent to the best duelist of the year.

I ready my deck, silently portraying my faith in the cards. A brief memory of the night eight years ago flits into my mind, but I push it out. I am determined to duel with my heart, and to win.

The duel progresses well. My strange power does not surface, and I find myself winning. A scowl etches itself onto the other student's face, and he begins resorting to desperate measures to throw me off. I try to ignore him, but his words dig deep into my soul.

He mocks my family, calling them poor and worthless. He calls my father a cripple, a mutant, a freak. I know his words should not affect me, and so I try to continue dueling. But the flow of his cruel words refuses to stop, and I find myself becoming angered. Wind howls in my ears, blocking out his words, and I find myself summoning Black Rose Dragon. It rises from the ground, displaying its mighty and terrible power. I remove a Plant-type monster from the game, reducing the attack of his monster to zero. He has no traps set, and with blood pounding in my ears, I unleash my fury and Black Rose Dragon obliterates his monster, along with the rest of his Life Points. He is blown backwards with the force of the attack, and lies on his back, shaken. The students in the stands are silent as I deactivate my duel disk and turn to walk away.

I am not sorry for what I have done, and it seems apparent. The boy raises his head, his dark eyes almost black, his mouth set in a grim line.

"Witch!" he spits at me, breathing heavily. "You're a witch! A monster!"

I flinch at his words, my victory-induced joy slowly giving way to incredulity as the student body begins hurling insults at me. I stand in the middle of the duel field, my eyes emotionless as each and every insult strikes me down even further.

I do not cringe from their words anymore, and I gather my shattered ego around me, walking out of the duel stadium. The teachers do not say anything, but I see their distrust clearly as they look at each other uneasily.

I do not care anymore. The power is back. There is nothing I can do now.

* * *

Cloaked in black, I steal away from my room, my duel disk hidden under my cloak and my deck in its holder at my belt. Security at the Academy is lax, and it is not hard to escape.

Two years is more than enough time to try and endure the taunts. I cannot take them anymore, I cannot bear the averted eyes of the teachers or the open insults of the students. I cannot bear being different anymore. My cloak covers my head, and only my eyes are visible in the murky darkness. Strands of my hair blow into my face, and I irritably push them back.

Neo Domino City is a vast place, I surmise, as I walk down the streets. I thank my parents for sending me away – at least they cannot see me now, see how unstable I have become. They will never know what has become of me.

I see a group of raggedly dressed men exit from a bar, a swagger in their step. Obviously intoxicated, they spot me and proceed to head in my direction. I stiffen, contemplating my chances of escaping.

But then, I realize that I don't _need_ to escape. I have a power, and I should use it. I face them as they walk towards me, ignoring their slurred words.

"Duel me. Now." My voice is calm, and I pitch it a little lower. They all laugh, and the tallest one, a lean man with dark hair, steps forward.

"Don't be difficult now," he tries to coax me. "We don't want a fight."

"Neither do I. Duel me." My words are more forceful, and I see two of the men exchange worried glances. The tall man shrugs and straps on a duel disk, shoving his cards into the deck holder.

"You asked for it," he chuckles. I allow myself a grim smile under my cloak of shadow, and place my own deck in the duel disk. I do not need to try and control my power anymore. In fact, I am filled with a _longing_ to use it, to punish this brash man for making advances on me. My heart pounds as I draw five cards.

I do not need to be Izayoi Aki anymore.

I decimate him, and my attacks leave him with a large gash on his cheek as well as copious bruises. His eyes are wild as I deliver my final assault, and he crumples to his knees. His companions have fled, and he is alone. His eyes roll in their sockets, and his forehead hits the ground with a loud thump. He does not stir. I deactivate my duel disk and contemptuously sweep past him, kicking his limp body aside. A strange new thrill fills me.

Under this shadow, I am someone else entirely. I continue to roam the streets of Neo Domino, until a pale flash catches my eye.

It is a white mask lying outside a tall building. It looks new, and I pick it up, oddly intrigued. The blank eyes stare back at me, and I slowly lift the mask to cover my face.

Immediately, I am transformed. I feel new power gush through my veins. I clench my hands into fists, and set off in search of another duelist.

Neo Domino teems with duelists, and I find one soon; a portly man with two companions. He is sober, and as we both activate our duel disks and draw five cards each, he asks me my name.

I open my mouth to answer, but I do not know what to say. My eyes dart towards my hand, and I see Black Rose Dragon.

"I am… the Black Rose Witch."

* * *

My hair swirls around me as Black Rose Dragon finishes off my opponent. I no longer try to restrain my hair, letting it mask me even further. As the man I have beaten groans and writhes on the ground, I feel a sickening pain lace its way up my arm. Clutching my arm, I glance down to see an outline of a claw, gleaming bright red against my black glove. I am in too much pain to summon any curiosity, and soon the mark fades.

But it appears in my next duel as well, and the next, and the next. Eventually, I grow used to the pain.

Rumours of me float around Neo Domino. Soon, almost everyone knows of the dreaded Black Rose Witch, whose opponents never survive her onslaught. Only a small part of me shrinks away from this description of myself. The rest of me is far too warped to care.

But then, I meet Divine.

He approaches me after I exterminate another opponent. At first, I think he is another challenger, wanting to defeat the Black Rose Witch and make a name for himself. But he talks to me, in a gentle voice, and somehow, he knows my name. He calls me by it, and I am flooded by guilt and self-hate.

What am I doing to myself? I ask. He shakes his head.

I do not know, he replies. But I can help you.

* * *

My eyes narrow as the tentacles of my monster wrap around Fudo Yusei and lift him off the ground. I can see the pain twisting his face, and I feel a smile crossing my face. His eyes widen, and I see understanding dawn on his face. My monster drops him to the ground again, and he gets up, his eyes accusing.

"Izayoi Aki… you _enjoy_ this power of yours. You enjoy causing pain to others."

I feel shock penetrate every molecule of my body, and everything in me vehemently opposes his words. "I… _enjoy_ this?" I spit out. I am so close to telling him how much I have suffered because of my powers, when I stop.

Because his words are _true_. I remember two years before, when I roamed the streets of Neo Domino as the Black Rose Witch, causing suffering and _enjoying_ that suffering. And even now, as I saw my monster hurt him, I felt joy.

Why? Why am I such a monster? Will I never be able to be human again? I clench my teeth together, knowing that there is only one way I can defeat Fudo Yusei, the bearer of another wretched mark like mine.

I extract my old mask from the folds of my dress and don it, wanting to feel the mad rush of power again. Wanting to be someone else again. Wanting to be inhuman again, instead of pretending to be human.

Yet as the duel continues, I see no sign of terror on his face. He remains determined, and I feel my humanity slipping in through the chinks in my armor. I try to keep it out, but I cannot – and as I see his Stardust Dragon embrace my Black Rose Dragon, I feel a tear slip down my cheek.

Terror grips me. Am I really lost? Both the dragons disappear in a flash of light, and I dimly hear him say something as I watch my life point counter drop to zero. My mask cracks, a shard falling off, bearing my vulnerability and my humanity to the world that does not care. Another tear escapes.

Yet I sense his eyes on me, and I can see that he is worried. Someone does care. I feel like reaching out with one hand, like I did all those years ago, trying to touch my father, trying to touch the one who cared.

But I cannot.

"Help me."

* * *

**AN: … ooo-kay then. Huh. I don't think I got that too well. Sorry… and I think I got some parts of the duel wrong, too. Err. Pretend that's how it went, anyways.**


End file.
